Marr B. Phillips (June 16, 1857 – April 1, 1928) was a professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player whose career spanned from 1877 to 1899. He played four seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

for the

Indianapolis Hoosiers Indianapolis Hoosiers was the name of three major league and at least three minor league baseball clubs based in Indianapolis. * Indianapolis Hoosiers (American Association), which played in 1884 * Indianapolis Hoosiers (National League), which pla ...

(1884),

Detroit Wolverines The Detroit Wolverines were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team that played in the National League from 1881 to 1888 in the city of Detroit, Michigan. In total, they won 426 games and lost 437, taking their lone pennant (and winning the pre ...

(1885),

Pittsburgh Alleghenys The following is a history of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball. Franchise beginnings (1870s-1899) Early baseball in Pittsburgh and the American Association The earliest mention of "base ball" in the region was found in the journal ...

(1885) and

Rochester Bronchos The Rochester Bronchos were a minor league baseball team based in Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and ...

(1890). He also spent 16 seasons in the minor leagues.

Early years

Phillips was born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, in 1857. He began his professional baseball career in 1877 playing for three different clubs in the

League Alliance The League Alliance was the first semi-affiliated minor league baseball league. Proposed by Al Spalding on January 15, 1877. Independent baseball teams were to affiliate with National League teams, which would honor their respective contracts. The ...

. The following year, he played for the Lynn/Worcester team in the International Association. After the 1878 season, there is a four-year gap during which Phillips is not reflected as playing in the records maintained by baseball-reference.com. His next listed position is with the Fort Wayne Hoosiers of the Northwestern League in 1883.

Indianapolis and Detroit

In 1884, Phillips made his major league debut with the

of the American Association. He appeared in 97 games, all at shortstop, and compiled a .269 batting average. In 1885, Phillips sent most of the season with the

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

. He appeared in 33 games, all at shortstop, and compiled a .209 batting average. Phillips also appeared in four games for the

in 1885.

Return to minors

After two years in the majors, Phillips returned to the minors for four years from 1886 to 1889. He played for the Charleston Seagulls and Augusta Browns in the Southern Association and then spent the 1887 and 1888 seasons in Canada playing for the Hamilton Hams in the International Association. He spent the 1889 season with the Rochester Jingoes in the International League.

Rochester

Phillips returned to the major leagues for one last season in 1890. He appeared in 64 games for the

, all at shortstop, and compiled a .206 batting average.

Later years

After his major league career ended, Phillips continued playing in the minor leagues for another nine years. He spent much of this time in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...

playing all or parts of the 1891 to 1895 seasons for the Troy Trojans. He spent the last four years of his professional baseball career back in Canada with the Hamilton Hams and Hamilton Blackbirds. Phillips died in Pittsburgh in 1928 at age 70.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Marr 1857 births 1928 deaths Baseball players from Pittsburgh Rochester Broncos players Detroit Wolverines players Indianapolis Hoosiers (AA) players Pittsburgh Alleghenys players Erie (minor league baseball) players Winona Clipper players Buffalo (minor league baseball) players Lynn Live Oaks players Worcester (minor league baseball) players Fort Wayne Hoosiers players Augusta Browns players Charleston Seagulls players Hamilton Hams players Rochester Jingoes players Troy Trojans (minor league) players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Troy Washerwomen players Scranton Indians players Oil City Oilers players Hamilton (minor league baseball) players Hamilton Blackbirds players 19th-century baseball players